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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27788122">Temptation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/iKain2/pseuds/rawnbones4'>rawnbones4 (iKain2)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Oranges and Lemons: Reeves of Lunden [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassin's Creed - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bathing/Washing, Consent is Sexy, Established Relationship, First Time, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Minor Spoilers for Lunden Arc, Not Beta Read, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Stowe POV, Very Thirsty Erke, Virgin Stowe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:29:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27788122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/iKain2/pseuds/rawnbones4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As the other reeve continued to gaze upon him with a measure of love that only grew as the days passed and the season turned colder, Stowe wondered if the Lord would understand his sharp descent into temptation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Erke/Stowe (Assassin's Creed)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Oranges and Lemons: Reeves of Lunden [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>149</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Temptation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Takes place after Lunden Arc. Slight references to Preparations, a M!Eivor/Tarben fic that I wrote prior, but not required reading.</p><p>Also: there is a hilarious world event in Wincestre where you help a kid get a flower for a girl, and I did NOT expect what the kids said after that, haha.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lunden was a city of extremes: its people, though devout in their worship, still struggled with drunkenness, quarreling, jealousy, and wandering hands – heavy sins their own right, but all the more human for it.</p><p>Though Stowe’s hands were long-since bloodied, he had kept his soul as pure as he could to satisfy the Lord’s teachings and serve as a model to his flock. He was not one to drink in excess or quarrel with his neighbors, and he was definitely not interested in bedding or marrying a woman.</p><p>In the months after The Compass’ siege of Lunden, however, he became more reflective of the tenets he previously held so strongly. Being trapped in a burning cathedral opened his eyes to a damning truth:</p><p>The other reeve continued to gaze upon him with a measure of love that only grew as the days passed and the season turned colder. Love, he gave freely whenever he could, but he had denied himself anything beyond their kisses and shadowed touches, too hesitant to commit the final act that would forever mark his soul. Despite this, Erke still waited, ever-patient and never pressing for more than he could give even if he did not fully understand why he had restrained himself so.  </p><p>Stowe wondered if the Lord would understand his sharp descent into the temptation of a lover’s warm embrace. He would seek penance, yes, but he would no longer allow shame to control him. Life was already too short and filled with other earthly sorrows and joys to experience - an afterlife separated from the other half of his soul was nothing compared to the comfort of being in his arms, even as their world burned around them.</p><p><em>Qui non diligit, non novit Deum: quoniam Deus caritas est.</em> <em>Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.</em></p><p>As Stowe greeted the few citizens hurrying back to their homes with the colder bite of the autumn chill at their heels, he rounded the corner to the Lunden harbor for the last part of his nightly patrol. There, he spotted the other reeve pulling apart some drunk brawlers.</p><p>“Alright men, let’s put an end to this, shall we?” Stowe jogged over and helped drag away the other man. He took note of the scattered dice and stones on the ground between them. “Don’t make us drop you in the harbor to sober you up.”</p><p>The drunk pitched to the right and Stowe struggled to keep him on his feet. Eventually, he just let the man drop down onto the floor, propped up against the wooden fencing.</p><p>“Aye, your fist-swinging can continue tomorrow, when you can actually read what’s showing on the dice!” Erke’s eyebrows were pitched down in clear annoyance as he hauled his drunkard up and dumped him roughly over a closed barrel.</p><p>A trio of young children – one of them perhaps no older than maybe a handful of winters, still sucking on his thumb – booed at them from where they were sitting on the precarious fencing of the harbor a few feet away.</p><p>“Let them fight! I had money on the big one!” A girl with a missing tooth crowed at them.</p><p>“C’mon! He almost had ‘im!” A boy with a head entirely shaved of hair pointed at the lurching man that was struggling to his feet, using the wooden fencing as support.  </p><p>Stowe raised an eyebrow at the children, his hands on his hips. “Show’s over, it’s time to go home.”</p><p>The older boy and girl stuck their tongues out at him. The youngest boy blew a raspberry from where he was clinging to the wood, little legs swinging idly.</p><p>“You’re the blacksmith’s children, ja? I’ll be telling your parents all about the climbing you lot were doing earlier, and maybe then your father would finally listen to me and make some shackles to keep you three at home and out of the warehouse!” Erke came over to stand next to Stowe, providing back up against three children.</p><p>The three children made faces at the two of them. “Stupid reeves! Go away!”</p><p>The drunkard by the barrel groaned as he finally got to his feet, and then promptly pitched to the left this time, breaking the entire railing with his weight. It was only Erke’s quick reflexes that kept the man from falling into the water.</p><p>Stowe was only able to grab the collars of the older boy and girl before they fell backwards, dragging them up to safety onto the wooden flooring.</p><p>The youngest boy slipped and fell into the dark waters below with a splash.</p><p>Stowe wasted no time in diving in after him without a second thought. The boy had not fallen far, so he recovered him quickly by grabbing him by the tunic collar and swimming back up. The boy coughed out a mouthful of water – it had happened so fast that he hadn’t even begun drowning yet, luckily. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he clung to Stowe, his little arms wrapped tightly around his neck and shivering.</p><p>“I’ve got you, don’t worry.” Stowe treaded back to wooden platform.</p><p>Erke had his hands out, already reaching out for the sopping wet boy. It took some effort to pry the child’s away from Stowe, but eventually they were all back on dry land.</p><p>The older boy and girl immediately grabbed onto their youngest sibling, crying tears of relief.</p><p>Stowe glanced at the drunkards on the ground. The men were snoring soundly, deafened to the world and the chaos they had created. He then gave Erke a look. “You know where they live?”</p><p>“Aye, their mother must be worried that they haven’t come back by now. Let’s get them home quickly before the little one freezes.” Erke tried to pick up the girl, but her flailing and crying had him setting her back down with a grunt.</p><p>Stowe picked up the youngest boy with little difficulty, rubbing a hand over his small back as he hiccupped. “Just a bit further and you’ll be drying out at home with your mum, little lamb.”</p><p>The walk was brief, just as Erke mentioned, and the children’s parents were thankful that they had been returned safely, if not a little wet. The mother handed Erke a covered pot of something that smelled like delicious stew for their trouble, which they accepted gratefully.</p><p>When they were back on the street, Erke gave Stowe worried look. He was still dripping wet and it was only going to get colder for the rest of the night. “We’re not far from my home, so why don’t we head there so you can dry off? Besides those two drunks, I haven’t seen anything else tonight.”</p><p>“Fine idea as any. Let’s go.” Stowe ran a hand through his hair, flicking away the water with a grimace.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Erke’s home was quiet when they entered – he had lived alone ever since the passing of his mother and brothers, so there was no one to greet as the man stoked up the hearth back to a blaze, setting the stew aside in favor of propping an already-filled pot of water over the fire. The interior had changed some since the last time he had visited, with Erke having moved his bedding into the main room for practicality.</p><p>Immediately, Stowe found himself warming himself by the flames, shivering from the cold that had seeped well into his skin from the walk over.</p><p>“I’ll heat up more water for you to wash with – should be some dry linen and soap somewhere in here. You smell worse than a wet dog, honestly.” Erke grabbed a large bucket that was sitting by the doorway of the cooking area.</p><p>Stowe rolled his eyes, making sure that his partner could see it before he went outside.</p><p>When the man was gone, he started the laborious process of undressing. His boots and belts went first, and then he set his sword down next to Erke’s spear. He tugged off his padded tunic with some difficulty, as it was soaked completely through. Thankfully, there was a drying rack nearby so he hung it over there. His trousers and underclothes went next to hang, leaving Stowe standing there, bare as the day he was born. A quick search on a nearby table resulted in a small bar of soap and a relatively clean rag that he used to wipe at his face and the back of his neck.</p><p>The door opened and he turned around just in time to see Erke nearly drop the filled bucket with a hissed swear as he shoved the door shut with his back. His eyes were nowhere near Stowe’s face.</p><p>Stowe turned red, and it wasn’t from the heat of the hearth. “I borrowed your drying rack, but I don’t really have extra clothes with me at the moment.”</p><p>It took a moment until Erke was able to drag his eyes away. Stowe could see him swallowing thickly as he walked over, hooking the bucket over the hearth so it could start to warm. He reached out, taking the cloth from Stowe’s hand and using it to grab the pot of heated water from the fire.</p><p>“Let me wash your hair. Sit down.”</p><p>Stowe did as he was asked to, dragging over a stool that was nearby. The spark of budding heat in his belly was familiar, but being completely bare like this, in front of Erke… it was an entirely different feeling smoldering in his veins. He put his hands on his knees, not quite knowing what to do with his hands. He certainly didn’t want to clasp them together right now – praying was the last thing on his mind.</p><p>Sometimes, he wondered what Erke saw in him, awkward limbs and all. He was far from the image of a fearsome and confident viking, kissed by the sun’s light and marked from victorious battles.</p><p>“Lean forward a little.” Erke’s hand pulled him forward just enough so that he was in line with the pot to catch the water as it dripped.</p><p>Hot water poured down his head by a cup-full, scorching trails of warmth against his chilled scalp and skin. It was a nice feeling, but even that did not compare to the touch of his lover as his calloused fingers carded through his hair, working soap thoroughly into it. Closing his eyes, he could feel himself relax, the nervousness fading away.</p><p>When the soap from his hair was cleaned out, Stowe angled his head a little, looking at Erke, who was kneeling down in front of him. “Help me wash my back?”</p><p>Erke licked at his lips, his blue-gray eyes darting across the naked skin in full-display for his viewing as he wrung out the water from the cloth. His voice was low and throaty, rumbling from constrained desire. “Ja, <em>elska</em>.”</p><p>The cloth felt heavenly against his skin and Stowe couldn’t help but sigh as it ran across his shoulders, trailing down his spine slowly before coming up to his side and over his chest. He didn’t need to say anything as the cloth followed down his arms, wiping him clean there before going for his fingers.</p><p>“Does it still hurt?” Erke took his cleaned hands, pressing a kiss to each of his palms.</p><p>“Not at all.” The bandages from his injury had come off weeks ago. His fingers healed well, though they ached sometimes when it rained. Stowe couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips.</p><p>Erke took the other bucket of water off the hearth. The cloth was dipped into clean, hot water, this time starting at his feet, and oh, was <em>that</em> a sight.</p><p>“Y-you don’t have to—” Stowe stammered as Erke lifted his right leg up slightly, pressing a thumb into the arch of his foot.</p><p>Ignoring him, Erke passed the cloth over his toes, sliding it down his ankle and up his calf. He followed the trail of water with his mouth, pressing his lips along the wet skin there as it glistened in the light of the hearth. He did the same to his other leg, before looking up at Stowe, blinking slowly as if coming out from a dream.</p><p>Stowe could feel himself flushing pink from cheeks down to his toes. His hand had gone to cover his groin, but there was no real way to hide the effect the other man had on him with his tender care.</p><p>Erke pressed the cloth into his free hand, getting up to his feet with a wince. A healthy blush was visible on his cheeks as he cleared his throat and adjusted himself in his trousers. “Sorry, I’ll let you—”</p><p>“No!” Stowe’s fingers caught onto the other man’s wrist, before he could leave. He stood up, unsteady on his feet. He could do this.</p><p>“No?” Erke stared at him with eyes darkened by restrained desire, his hands going to rest on Stowe’s bare hip, his touch tentative. “You’ve said before, your faith—"</p><p>“I don’t— I don’t care.” Stowe stepped forward, pressing their foreheads together and feeling the heat of the other man’s body even through his tunic. “I want you, only you. We could die tomorrow, and I don’t want you to regret choosing me because I wouldn’t…”</p><p>“My Stowe, my sparrow-heart.” Erke ran a hand through his washed hair, carding his fingers through. “You don’t have to do this. I’m happy with what we have.”</p><p>“I will not feel shame, not anymore.” Stowe wrapped his arms around his lover’s neck. “Though, I will admit, you will need to teach me. I haven’t done this before.”</p><p>“I—only if you’re absolutely sure.” Erke's hands slid from his hips to the swell of his ass and squeezed lightly. Stowe could feel him stiffen further against him – a hot, hard line against his thigh, separated only by a layer of fabric.</p><p>“Erke, please,” Stowe pressed a kiss onto the other man’s parted lips. If he was this hungry for his touch, his lover must be ravenous and starving – he would remedy that grievance tonight. “Take me to bed.”</p><p>Stowe found himself shuffled over and pressed down onto a narrow bed that just barely would fit the both of them. He watched as Erke quickly ripped off his clothing, tossing them onto the floor by the bedding. His cock stood up proudly, the head glistening wet as he hovered above Stowe. His eyes roamed the expanse of pale skin, all laid out for him to taste at his leisure. “By the Gods, not even my dreams can match this.”</p><p>“Good thing this isn’t a dream.” Stowe reached out his hand, sliding over other man’s chest, following the trail of hair downwards. Erke made a choked noise in the back of his throat when his fingers curled beneath his to wrap around his cock. This, at least, he knew – though he has never done it to anyone else, and rarely himself. “I already know to hold a sword, so maybe this is not so different? Tell me what you want.”</p><p>“Anything.” Erke rocked into his hold for a few moments before he remembered to control himself. “I could probably come just from looking at you like this, to be honest.”</p><p>“I heard there is a way for, ah, men, to…” Stowe huffed out a breath. If his cheeks were pink before, they were probably red now. “Do you want that? To be inside me?”</p><p>Erke gave him a surprised look, though Stowe could feel his cock jump in his hand just from the suggestion. “We don’t need to do that right now. It could turn painful if we aren’t careful, and I don’t want to hurt you. We can do that another time… if you also want to, of course—”</p><p>“You’ve never hurt me.” Stowe pushed himself up on his elbows, just enough so he could kiss the other man. When they parted, he murmured against their lips, “I trust you, love.”</p><p>Stowe felt himself being pressed back into the bed with a hand as Erke got off him, shifting off the bed and onto his feet. He quickly went searching for something in the room, muttering under his breath when he looked through his traveling pack.</p><p>“Check my bag. I might have something.” Stowe brushed his fingers against his own cock, which was resting heavy against his thigh. It was a heady feeling, waiting for his lover to return to bed. Why had he ever denied himself this?</p><p>Erke rummaged through Stowe’s bag, his eyebrows raising to his hairline when he pulled out a bottle of oil. “…Don’t tell me, is this…”</p><p>“A gift from Eivor. He helped me understand what to expect, and why I should no longer waste any more time.”</p><p>“Baldr’s sack, that man. I knew he was up to something that day.” Erke shook his head as he climbed back into bed, uncorking the bottle and letting the slick liquid drip onto his hands.</p><p>Instead of pressing them in immediately, like Stowe had expected him to do, the other man instead grabbed Stowe’s cock in one slick hand, sliding luxuriously along his flesh in a tight grip. Stowe let out an embarrassing noise at the sensation, his hips jerking up into the pleasure.</p><p>Erke shifted so that Stowe’s thighs were to either side of him, watching the rocking of his hips with a focused and rapt expression on his face, as if committing to memory all that was happening.</p><p>Stowe felt heat building in his stomach, coiling pleasantly as he watched his lover sliding his hand over him, pressing his thumb against the head with a confidence that made him shiver. He had never felt anything like this – not even the few times he dared to do this to himself in the dark, thinking of another’s hands on him. He relaxed underneath the steady touches, so much that he was hardly tensed when a finger began to tease him from below, not quite pressing in just yet.</p><p>“Breathe, my sparrow-heart.”</p><p>Stowe took in a breath as two fingers pressed in, inexorably slow. It was a strange feeling, but it wasn’t painful. He exhaled when he could feel Erke’s fingers stopping for a moment, letting him adjust.</p><p>The fingers crooked, searching for something, and Stowe let out a breathless laugh at how odd that felt—</p><p>—and then Erke pressed against something that shot pure lightning up his spine. Stowe arched, heels digging into his lover’s back, his hands curling into the furs beneath him.</p><p>“W-what was that?!” Stowe’s voice cracked as he looked at Erke, who was staring at him with a look so heated it was scorching in its intensity. The fingers pressed against that spot again, and he couldn’t help but rock downwards into the sensation.</p><p>Stowe felt helpless as Erke took his time with him, one hand moving along his cock – so wet it was making an obscene noise with each downstroke – and the other teasing him mercilessly from within. It was all pleasure melting him down into a puddle of liquid heat that could do little against.</p><p>He was so warm, now. The chill of the Thames felt like a lifetime ago.</p><p>When the fingers came out of him, Stowe couldn’t help the low moan that escaped him, clenching down on nothing. It was only a moment later until he felt something else pressing into him slowly, much larger than the fingers.</p><p>He could feel the burn of the stretch now, but it was nothing compared to the pleasure seeping low into his bones.</p><p>Erke let go of his cock and ran a slick hand across his stomach. He leaned over to kiss him, languid and unhurried, as he pushed his legs back and pressed as close as he could. When they parted, a string of spit still connected them. He sounded wrecked as he murmured against their parted lips, “We have to be quiet, <em>elska</em>.”</p><p>Stowe whimpered, his hands going to curl around his lover’s shoulders, grasping onto his braid and tugging. “O God…”</p><p>Erke kissed him again when he pulled out half-way and slid back in with one smooth motion, hips pressed against him so closely that it would be difficult to tell where one person ended and the other began. They rocked together, slowly at first, until urgency and instinct drove them forward into a rutting mess of tangled limbs.</p><p>The pleasure in Stowe’s stomach coiled tighter than he’d felt possible whenever he felt Erke’s cock pressing against that spot with each thrust back inside, the stretch and drag of him so heated and nearly unbearable. He opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and watched through sweat-blurred eyes as his lover fucked into him harder now, the bed creaking lightly along to his furious movements as he chased completion. His own cock was trapped between their bodies, and he felt like he was drawn taut, all thoughts of the love he felt and nothing else, and then—</p><p>Stowe buried his face into Erke’s shoulder, muffling his gasp into the scarred skin and muscle there as he came, back arched as he spilled between them messily. His legs tightened around Erke’s hips, his body squeezing around the hard cock inside of him.</p><p>Stowe could feel the other man stiffening before abruptly pulling out of him. Erke sat back on his heels, looking at him with wild blue-gray eyes as his hand slid quickly over himself a few more times before he had to shove his free hand into his mouth to stifle a choked moan. Thick ropes of white splattered over Stowe’s cock, mixing with the mess there and dripping down towards his well-used hole.</p><p>Breathing heavily, Stowe raised his arms up, and Erke crashed down onto him – warm, sweaty, and sticky. They kissed lazily as the high of their pleasure faded from them, slowly.</p><p>“Good?” Erke mumbled tiredly against Stowe’s shoulder, one of his fingers pressed against the thin chain he wore around his neck - the silver ring had slid off-center and was closer to the side of his neck, now. His face was blotchy from exertion and his braid was mused, needing to be re-tied.</p><p>“The best.” Stowe pressed his lips against Erke’s cheek, turning slightly so he could hook his leg over his lover’s hip. Just being together like this had Stowe smiling – he couldn’t help it. If this is what a lover’s touch felt like, it was no wonder this temptation was near-impossible to avoid.</p><p>Erke shifted against him, drawing him closer. A lopsided grin tugged at his lips as well as he nosed at Stowe’s neck, nibbling at the thin skin there. “Give me a few minutes and we can go again.”</p><p>Stowe sighed as he felt teeth scraping lightly, teasing a bite. “Sorry to disappoint, but we have to go to sleep at some point. There are things we need to do tomorrow.”</p><p>“Aye, things to do.” One of Erke’s hands wandered back down towards Stowe’s ass. “Many, many things to do.”</p><p>“Erke,” Stowe tried to be serious, but found himself devolving into a quiet, breathless laughter. “Look, if we wake up early enough, we’ll do this again, but we really need to sleep.”</p><p>“Hmm…” Erke’s grip tightened as he shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, wrapped around his lover. “Stay?”</p><p>“Of course.” Stowe blinked sleepily. They would need to clean up, first thing in the morning, but for the moment he felt no urge to be anywhere else except for where he was, being held a man who was everything to him in this life, and more.   </p>
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